After looking at the concept of partial or hybrid caster classes, I started looking at other conversion ideas and came across the warlock. I looked at old and new incarnations of the warlock class which also led me down a few other paths as well, such as ‘sorcerer bloodlines’.

What makes the warlock different from other arcane casters?

1) Theme: They are an arcane and not a divine class, who are “granted” their powers from some Otherworldly entity but not in the classic Divine ‘deity/worshiper’ relationship. It is a one-time pact where power is bestowed and nothing can ever change that pact, unlike priests who can change alignments/allegiances.

2) Magic: They are considered an arcane class, but they don’t learn and cast spells in the same manner as a mage. Instead they have a series of what are supposed to be spell-like abilities, often related to the origin of their power.

Thus I started to toy around with the concept of a supernatural character class whose powers are innate abilities granted to them by a pact with an Otherworldly entity. The overall concept is a combination of 3X and 4E warlock concepts converted to FC built on the Priest as a base template and expanding the concept with influence from the sorcerer with bloodlines concept from 3X.

After looking over the FC options, I felt the base concept of the character that is granted powers was basically covered by the Priest. However, when looking really close at the class, it is very obviously dependent on the Miracles campaign quality not Sorcery, and its focus is specifically geared to a more devout worshiper orientation. This alters slightly from the warlock concept which is based more on symbiosis and service than the Priest’s faith and devotion. However, I felt that the Priest template would still work perfectly for a class like this, with some minor changes.

First I wanted to alter the class to Sorcery, rather than Miracles. This lead to the following sidebar, where I have basically two choices to choose from: make them in all effect work like Arcane Spells or like Divine Spells.

SidebarUnlike Priests, Warlocks are arcane casters even though they do not technically have any ability to use the Spellcasting skill.

a) As such, the warlock’s innate spell-like abilities work in the same manner as a Divine Casters’ (see FC p110) but are considered Sorcery, not Miracles. This would be similar to basically making each spell they gain a ‘Natural Spell’. The problem with this is the total inability to “fail” at a casting (which means Eldritch Blast always hits) but also no chance to have a critical success either.

ORb) However, since the warlock’s innate spell-like abilities work are considered Sorcery, they still require a skill roll to utilize. This warlocks substitute a Resolve check in place of a Spellcasting check for the purpose of using their invocation spells, including attack spells (see FC p112).

ORc) Grant Spellcasting as a class skill in the A Slot ability. The problem I had with this is that it adds INT as another required stat making the class quite M.A.D. It also would need to have stated that even though you have the spellcasting skill, you don’t gain bonus spells based on ranks or WIS or Spellcasting feats, which gets cumbersome.

End Sidebar

Currently I went with Option B.

To create a hybrid caster feel, I first worked in the archetypical ability of the original warlock - the eldritch blast, an innate magical attack usable at-will. This is then topped off with a variety of innate magical abilities. What made most sense was to model Eldritch Blast as a Level 0 spell so that it could be cast at-will. It is mostly modeled after Polar Ray I, but dropped the saving throw and added a Stat Mod to damage to make it more equivalent to a standard weapon attack, rather than subpar to one. The idea is that this attack should be the Only real “weapon” a warlock needs. Especially once Spellbound is released and we have access to true Spellcasting Tricks. In the class design, Eldritch Blast basically replaces the Priest’s Ritual Weapon.

I also wanted to allow more choice in spell selection than the priest concept of paths, where you only get a specific handful of spells mixed in with non-spell abilities. However, to cover the “hybrid spellcaster” nature of the class, I liked the basic framework of the path progression for spells. So I combined the ideas. I gave the same basic effect as having a Step gain at the same level as priests, basically giving the warlock 2 spells at each “Step”. However, I had to control the level access. By a “normal” priest progression, a 9th level Priest could have 2 7th-8th level spells. I thought that was a bit too powerful when the warlock had some control over the spell selection. Thus, slowing the progression to equal the Mage’s Circle of Power acquisition. The warlock gets a fair selection of spells to make a conceptual theme, but doesn’t get 8th level spells at 9th level. Thus, the class ends up with the ability to cast 20 spells (21 if you count Eldritch Blast) by 20th level, but all tightly linked to their pact. These spell lists will improve with the release of Spellbound.

From there I looked at the other core concept of the class, which is the Warlock Pact. In 3X this was automatically assumed to be a mix between Fiendish and Fey. In 4X they took it a step further, giving the choice between various pacts. Along the same idea was the 3E sorcerer, which long before Pathfinder, had come into the concept of Bloodlines (myself included having posted a rather popular PDF on the subject on EN-World way back). I chose to focus on that concept and based the warlock pacts on the existing FC “Heritage” feats, which all focus on Otherworldly heritages.

WARLOCKWarlocks channel arcane might wrested from primeval entities. They commune with infernal intelligences and fey spirits, scour enemies with potent blasts of eldritch power, and bedevil foes with hexing curses. Armed with esoteric secrets and dangerous lore, warlocks are clever and resourceful foes. However you came to your arcane knowledge, you need not accept the poor reputation warlocks sometimes endure. The pacts are complete. The rites have concluded. The signs are drawn in blood, and the seals are broken. Your destiny beckons. Depending on your campaign, a Warlock could be…• A libram-toting scholar captivated by ominous lore• A foot-loose wanderer with a knack for the elements, searching for elusive ultimate truths• A devil-touched hunter using infernal spells to eliminate evil• A black-clad mercenary of the fey courts who uses sinister trappings to discourage prying strangers and unwanted attention• A true diabolist using your gifts to tyrannize the weak• A crusader of the light fighting the forces of evil

Party Role: Combatant/Wildcard. You are always prepared to defend yourself with eldritch power, but the rest of your talents depend upon your warlock pact and the powers granted by it.

CORE ABILITY Forceful Caster: Each time you spend 1 action die to boost a Resolve check to cast a spell, you roll and add the results of 2 dice (e.g. at Career Level 1, 1d4 becomes 2d4).

CLASS ABILITIESWarlock Pact: You choose to make a pact with other-worldly entity in exchange for power. You gain the ability to cast warlock invocations. These invocations are innate arcane spell-like abilities granted to you through your pact. You don’t ever learn to use the Spellcasting skill however. Instead, you use Resolve skill checks in place of Spellcasting checks when utilizing these invocations, including attack spells (see FC p112). At Level 1, choose 2 Level 0 spells of your choice from your Pact’s spell list. These Level 0 invocation spells may be cast at will. Additionally, you gain the Eldritch Blast invocation for your pact (see Sidebar) that you may cast at-will.

Pact Revealed I: The power of your pact becomes ingrained in your being. At Level 2, you gain the following ability based on your pact.• Angelic: You gain the Angelic Heritage feat, ignoring the normal prerequisites.• Devilish: You gain the Devilish Heritage feat, ignoring the normal prerequisites.• Draconic: You gain thick hide 3 and gain Tactics as an origin skill. When taking the Basic Skill Mastery feat you have access to a new skill pair: Conqueror (Impress & Tactics).• Elemental: You gain the Elemental Heritage feat, ignoring the normal prerequisites.• Faerie: You gain the Faerie Heritage feat, ignoring the normal prerequisites.

Pact Revealed II: The power of your pact becomes more integral to your being. At Level 11, you gain the following ability based on your pact.• Angelic: You gain the Angelic Legacy feat, ignoring the normal prerequisites.• Devilish: You gain the Devilish Legacy feat, ignoring the normal prerequisites.• Draconic: You gain the Draconic Legacy feat, ignoring the normal prerequisites.• Elemental: You gain the Draconic Legacy feat, ignoring the normal prerequisites.• Faerie: You gain the Faerie Legacy feat, ignoring the normal prerequisites.

Pact Revealed III: The power of your pact becomes an iconic part of your being. At Level 19, you gain the following ability based on your pact.• Angelic: The lower of your Wisdom or Charisma scores rises by 1, your Acid and Cold Resistance increases to 15. If you previously chose, or choose to grow feathered wings, you no longer suffer any associated penalties to action dice for doing so.• Devilish: The lower of your Dexterity or Intelligence scores rises by 1, your Fire and Electricity Resistance increases to 15. If you previously chose, or choose to grow bat wings, you no longer suffer any associated penalties to action dice for doing so.• Draconic: The higher of your Strength or Intelligence scores rises by 1, and you gain Acid and Fire Resistance 15. If you previously chose, or choose to grow leathery wings, you no longer suffer any associated penalties to action dice for doing so.• Elemental: Your highest attribute rises by 1 and your lowest attribute drops by 1. Also, all numerical benefits of your Elemental Heritage feat (positive and negative) are triple the starting amount (i.e. if you have Elemental Heritage (Earth), your Damage Reduction becomes 6/Blunt and your Speed decreases by 15 ft. instead of 5 ft.). If you previously chose, or choose to gain the Elemental Type, you no longer suffer any associated penalties to action dice for doing so.• Faerie: The higher of your Dexterity or Charisma scores rises by 1, and you bonus with opposed Bluff checks increases by an additional 6 (for a total of +16). If you previously chose, or choose to grow insect-like wings, you no longer suffer any associated penalties to action dice for doing so.

Invocations: You gain the ability to cast advanced invocations. At Levels 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17 and 19 you gain 2 additional invocations from your Pact spell list. The level of spell you may choose is based upon your Class Level as follows.• Lesser Invocations: Warlock Levels 3 & 5: up to Level 2 spells• Intermediate Invocations: Warlock Levels 7 & 9: up to Level 4 spells• Greater Invocations: Warlock Levels 11 & 13: up to Level 6 spells• Superior Invocations: Warlock Levels 15, 17 & 19: up to Level 8 spells Lesser and higher invocation spells may only be cast once per scene each. You may learn the same spell more than once however, allowing for multiple castings per scene of that spell.

• Rebuke: You’re an instrument of eldritch devotion. Characters you successfully Turn also suffer an amount of damage equal to your Resolve bonus. This extra damage is of the same damage type as your Eldritch Blast. Those targeted who make their Will saves suffer half this damage (rounded down). You may only choose this ability if you may Turn.

Angelic Pact• Blessings: The error ranges of checks made by allies within Close Quarters decrease by 1 (minimum 1).• Sterling Reputation: When you or your allies lose Reputation, the loss decreases by 2 (minimum 0).• Watched Over: Once per adventure as a free action, you may gain a free Blessing favor with a cost equal to your Class Level + 5. Unless used, this Favor is lost at the end of the scene.

Devilish Pact• Devilish Deflection: When you successfully Taunt an opponent you may force him to attack any character adjacent to you (other than himself). You may use this ability a number of times per scene equal to your starting action dice.• Silent Shadow: When you make a Sneak check, a single adjacent ally or teammate may share your result. The character must remain within 10 ft. of you to retain this benefit.• Sly Threat: The threat ranges of your Influence and Browbeat checks to reduce Disposition increase by your Intelligence modifier (minimum +1).• Watch Your Back: Once per adventure as a free action, you may gain a free Harassment favor with a cost equal to your Class Level + 5. Unless used, this Favor is lost at the end of the scene.

Draconic Pact• Draconic Speed: In combat, your Speed increases by 10 ft.• Great Hoard: Your maximum Prizes increase by 2.• Hoard Assets: When Coercing, your incentive modifiers are always at least extreme (see Table 2.12: Persuasion and Coercion, page 75).• Hoarded Knowledge: Once per adventure as a free action, you may gain a free Feat Training favor with a cost equal to your Class Level + 5. Unless used, this Favor is lost at the end of the scene. • Hidden in Plain Sight: As a free action, you may make a Stash check to hide 1 object weighing up to 1 lb. Inspection fails to find the object unless a threat or critical success is scored.

Elemental Pact• Elemental Event: Once per adventure as a free action, you may gain a free Diversion favor with a cost equal to your Class Level + 5. Unless used, this Favor is lost at the end of the scene. • Elemental Influence: Each ally and teammate within 10 ft. who can see and hear you gains the benefits of uncanny dodge I. This does not stack with uncanny dodge abilities they already have.• Evasive: You often trip opponents up with their own attacks. Once per round when an adjacent opponent’s attack misses you by 5 or more, you may immediately attempt to Tire the opponent as a free action. You may substitute Acrobatics in place of Resolve for this action.• Walk this Way!: When you make an Acrobatics check, a single adjacent ally or teammate may share your result. The character must remain within 10 ft. of you to retain this benefit.

Faerie Pact• Charming: When you successfully Taunt a character, you may decline the standard result to have your target become fixated on you for 1d6 rounds. Special characters and villains may spend 1 action die to cancel this effect and become immune to this ability for the rest of the scene. If you gain this benefit from multiple sources, you may also damage the target once without interrupting his fixation (you may do this only once, no matter how many times you gain the benefit).• Court Connected: Once per adventure as a free action, you may gain a free Reconnaissance favor with a cost equal to your Class Level + 5. Unless used, this Favor is lost at the end of the scene. • Gifted with Animals: You’re considered to have 5 additional ranks in Survival when training animals. This may cause you to exceed your maximum skill rank for these activities.• Stick Close and Follow Me: When you make a Blend check, a single adjacent ally or teammate may share your result. The character must remain within 10 ft. of you to retain this benefit.

Warlock Curse: At Level 10, once per round as a free action, you can place a Warlock Curse on an enemy in Close Quarters that you can see. A cursed enemy is more vulnerable to your attacks. If you damage a cursed enemy, you deal 1d6 additional damage. You decide whether to apply the extra damage after making the damage roll. You can deal this extra damage once per round. A Warlock’s Curse remains in effect until the end of the encounter or until the cursed enemy is unconscious or dead. You can place a Warlock’s Curse on multiple targets over the course of an encounter; each curse requires the use of a free action. You can’t place a Warlock Curse on a creature that is already affected by your or another character’s Warlock Curse. At Level 20, your additional damage increases to 2d6.

SidebarWarlock Aligned Spells: When a warlock gains a spell that is Aligned, this spell is based off their warlock pact, not their alignment. The warlock may cast aligned spells on any character that is not of the same Warlock Pact or a creature of the type associated with their pact. When a spell states that it works for an opposed alignment, the warlock chooses the target character Type at the time they cast the spell.Example: An angelic warlock casts Sacred Aura. They may target any non-Angelic warlock or any non-angel character type (such as Demon, Fey, etc.).

1) This was tricky. I hemmed and hawed over it.The Con: Draconic Heritage includes an aspect to the feat that is of absolute no use to the Warlock, and that is the "mage's pouch" aspect to the feat. Warlock's don't need a mage's pouch, so always acting as if they had one just didn't seem to fit at all.

The Fix: So I chose to substitute that 1 aspect of the feat with granting an Origin skill that fit the draconic warlock mold instead. I felt it was a better match.

2) Yes, typo. Thanks for the catch. it should obviously be Elemental Legacy.

Quote from: Foghorn

Also, you can remove the "ignoring the normal prerequisites" part of Pact Revealed I & II. If a class grants a specific feat, you always ignore the prerequisites.

Are you certain on that? The reason I added it was based on the example in the "Heritage Revealed" Paladin class ability which specifically uses the " ignoring “Level 1 only” prerequisites" verbiage.

There's a lot here to look at. With respect to recent discussions, I think that Draconic Heritage is still pretty buff even if you don't need a mage's pouch, so I wouldn't worry about that aspect of the feat if I were you.

Yes, but it is a drastically different concept. The class in that thread is basically a pet class with a focus on Affliction spells and effects. Since it was already stated there would be a class like it in Spellbound, I was looking at other conversions that were unlikely to be in spellbound. The Witch/Hexer concept will likely be an Expert Class designed to match up with the Enchanter, Reaper and or Trickster base classes.

SidebarOn “Spell Conversion” feats: When a warlock has a Spell Conversion feat with a trick that uses Spell Points, the warlock instead substitutes doubling the casting time of the spell as the cost. (e.g.: The Spell Conversion: Distance feat’s Reaching Spell trick would read “you may double the Casting Time to increase the spell’s Distance by 100%”.)

SPELLCASTING FEATS

ELDRITCH BLAST BASICS You learn to channel your eldritch blast more effectively.Prerequisites: Warlock, Casting Level 1+Benefit: Your Charisma modifier is doubled when calculating Eldritch Blast damage. You also gain a stance.Focused Blast (Stance): Your target’s cover worsens by 2 grades (e.g. ½ cover becomes no cover). You may not move while in this stance (though you may still take Bonus 5-ft. Steps as normal).

ELDRITCH BLAST MASTERY You learn to cast your Eldritch Blast farther than normal.Prerequisites: Eldritch Blast BasicsBenefit: You gain 2 tricks.Jumping Shot (Eldritch Blast Attack Trick): If you hit by 4 or more, you also inflict the weapon’s damage on 1 adjacent character of your choice.Spearing Shot (Eldritch Blast Attack Trick): When casting Eldritch Blast, you may double the Casting Time to increase the spell’s Distance by 100%.

ELDRITCH BLAST SUPREMACY You learn to cast your Eldritch Blast in a wider area.Prerequisites: Eldritch Blast MasteryBenefit: You gain 2 tricks.Eldritch Bolt (Eldritch Blast Attack Trick): When casting Eldritch Blast, you may double the Casting Time to increase the blast to a 25ft. long line, 10ft. wide.Expanded Blast (Eldritch Blast Attack Trick): When casting Eldritch Blast, you may double the Casting Time to increase the blast to a 20ft. sphere.

ELDRITCH WEAPON BASICS You learn to channel your eldritch blast into the form of a melee weapon.Prerequisites: Warlock, Casting Level 1+Benefit: You learn the following invocation, which you may cast at-will.

ELDRITCH WEAPONLevel: 1 InvocationCasting Time: 1 half action Distance: PersonalDuration: 1 minute per Caster Level (dismissible)Effect: You create a semi-material weapon made of eldritch energy, of Size no greater than Tiny that you are proficient with (including forte if normally required for the weapon). This eldritch weapon acts like a spell and an actual weapon in regard to proficiencies, fortes, tricks, feats and other special abilities specific to a weapon type (e.g. an eldritch long sword counts as an ‘edged’ weapon and a ‘sword’). When using an eldritch weapon, you inflict 1d6+ your Charisma modifier damage based on your Pact (as your normal Eldritch Blast). You may create additional eldritch weapons with additional uses of this power.

ELDRITCH WEAPON MASTERY Your eldritch weapon skill improves. Prerequisites: Eldritch Weapon BasicsBenefit: You can now create an eldritch weapon of Size no greater than Small and cannot be disarmed when armed with an eldritch weapon. Also, you gain a trick. Knockback (Eldritch Weapon Attack Trick): If you hit by 4 or more, you push the target 5ft. away from you (assuming there’s an empty square behind them). If they’re pushed, you may move into the square they previously occupied.

ELDRITCH WEAPON SUPREMACY Your eldritch weapon becomes formidable.Prerequisites: Eldritch Weapon MasteryBenefit: You can now create an eldritch weapon of Size no greater than Medium and can now cast the Eldritch Weapon invocation as a free action. Also, you gain a trick.Deadly Weapon (Eldritch Weapon Attack Trick): You inflict double your eldritch weapon damage. You may use this trick as many times per combat as you have Spellcasting feats.

INVOCATION LIBRARY You learn a small number of additional invocations.Prerequisite: Warlock, Ability to use Lesser InvocationsBenefit: You learn an additional number of invocations equal to your lifestyle, from the list available to you. You may choose any invocations of up to the highest grade of invocation you know.

With respect to recent discussions, I think that Draconic Heritage is still pretty buff even if you don't need a mage's pouch, so I wouldn't worry about that aspect of the feat if I were you.

But it's part of the worth of the feat, factored into how it was balanced. I say that if an equivalent is needed for a use that is not intended to need a mage's pouch then the feat needs to be rebalanced to be in line with other options.

Unfortunately the current version given for the Warlock is worth more than equivalent: Origin Skill is worth 1 build point (as per the wiki), while kit equivalents seem to be worth only 0.5 points (based on my own attempts to figure Species Feats out and which may not be accurate).

Yes, but it is a drastically different concept. The class in that thread is basically a pet class with a focus on Affliction spells and effects. Since it was already stated there would be a class like it in Spellbound, I was looking at other conversions that were unlikely to be in spellbound. The Witch/Hexer concept will likely be an Expert Class designed to match up with the Enchanter, Reaper and or Trickster base classes.

All true - however, it does have some more classically warlock material further down, such as this specialty, which might well create something very 3.5 warlock-esque when combined with a blasting class, as the Channelor looks to be.

With respect to recent discussions, I think that Draconic Heritage is still pretty buff even if you don't need a mage's pouch, so I wouldn't worry about that aspect of the feat if I were you.

But it's part of the worth of the feat, factored into how it was balanced. I say that if an equivalent is needed for a use that is not intended to need a mage's pouch then the feat needs to be rebalanced to be in line with other options.

Unfortunately the current version given for the Warlock is worth more than equivalent: Origin Skill is worth 1 build point (as per the wiki), while kit equivalents seem to be worth only 0.5 points (based on my own attempts to figure Species Feats out and which may not be accurate).

If you look further under the Species feat, you'll see that one of the Orc/Goblin ones grants Thick Hide 3 and nothing else. Simply by including that, Draconic Heritage gives a player plenty.

Looking at this class in more depth, I love all the flavourful abilities, and in particular how you've fleshed out so many different pacts. A couple of things I'm not sure of:

Use of Resolve for spellcasting: Other than the flavour change, is the practical significance of this intended to be that you max out two skills for one, that levels in Warlock should not stack with other arcane classes for casting ability, and that you rely on Con rather than Int for casting reliably? If so, that's fine; and not that much of a bump since, if I've understood this correctly, you're not only getting access to a narrower range of spells than the Mage but also know less of them. However, what might be a tad unbalancing is how this meshes with abilities to always succeed on Resolve checks below DC X (e.g. the Assassin level 1 ability) or, to a lesser extent, the various ways to get Resolve as an enlightened skill.

The invocation progression: Why not just go up spell level 1, 2, 3, 4 etc. a la the Mage, rather than 2,2,4,4, etc.?

Looking at this class in more depth, I love all the flavourful abilities, and in particular how you've fleshed out so many different pacts. A couple of things I'm not sure of:

Use of Resolve for spellcasting: Other than the flavour change, is the practical significance of this intended to be that you max out two skills for one, that levels in Warlock should not stack with other arcane classes for casting ability, and that you rely on Con rather than Int for casting reliably? If so, that's fine; and not that much of a bump since, if I've understood this correctly, you're not only getting access to a narrower range of spells than the Mage but also know less of them. However, what might be a tad unbalancing is how this meshes with abilities to always succeed on Resolve checks below DC X (e.g. the Assassin level 1 ability) or, to a lesser extent, the various ways to get Resolve as an enlightened skill.

I was unsure of this myself, which is why I listed the 3 options in the original post that I was looking at.A) Act as "divine" spells / Natural Spell.B) A skill check without giving access to "Spellcasting".C) Granting "Spellcasting".

However, to answer some of the questions. 1) The intent was not to max out two skills for the price of one. The idea was simply to maintain the mechanic of needing a skill check to utilize the spell-like abilities of the class, rather than the "auto-success" of the Divine casting method. The problem is most prevalent for Eldritch Blast. As currently written this is a "spell". However, is it balanced to have a spell that automatically hits that can be cast at will? Not really. The only fix is if the spell-like abilities of the class function as "Divine" spells, then the Eldritch Blast likely needs to be changed to have a Saving Throw (REF 1/2). The problem with this, is that the entire concept of the Eldritch Blast is to equal a "Ritual Weapon" in use. The question is really this.

Is the average damage per round done with a weapon attack (average 1d8 damage) plus appropriate modifier based on BAB, equal to a spell that deals 1d6 plus a modifier but can be saved against for 1/2 damage? Especially when we all know that spell DCs are rather on the low side in FC.

I'm not a mathematician, but some basic math would indicate that they are not quite balanced, with a weapon being better than the spell.

2) Yes, the intent was that levels in Warlock should not stack with other arcane classes for casting ability, other than for Caster Level. Warlocks as written were not intended to be just another Mage knockoff, nor are they supposed to cast spells the same way. It was intended to take a different approach to a "hybrid" spellcaster. While yes, they gain a few spells that they can cast, they are actually a smaller percentage of the class' focus than their overall innate magical nature.

3) As for CON vs. INT, this was not specifically intentional, but a function of the choice of a Skill to base the "casting roll" on. The only skill that truly made sense, if one was not going to grant "spellcasting" was Resolve, which just happens to be a CON skill. Do I feel this unbalanced? Not really. Again, the Warlock wasn't meant to be just another Mage that used INT/WIS/CHA and the choice of Resolve just happened to reinforce that, making the Warlock a more hybrid feeling CON/CHA/DEX based class instead.

4) However, you bring up a good point about abilities that allow auto "success on Resolve checks below DC X (e.g. the Assassin level 1 ability) or, to a lesser extent, the various ways to get Resolve as an enlightened skill."

As for the auto-success, I believe only Assassin gets Resolve as an option. Even then, if you take a dip into Assassin 1 to get this, you only gain auto-success on spell DC's under 21, which is auto-success on level 0 to level 2 spells only. The only real issue I see with this (since the core alternative is to make them act like Divine spells, which means being auto-success anyway) is Eldritch Blast. However, I've already made a change to Eldritch Blast, making it's base "Spell Level" increase with class level.

The real problem would be an Assassin who takes a 1 Level dip into Warlock to get the Eldritch Blast, effectively granting them an Auto-Hit (so long as they don't suffer an error) magical ranged attack that deals 1d6+CHA.

Is there a way to fix this? Is it necessary to fix for 1 specific case? The only 2 fixes I see are:

1) Tag the Eldritch Blast with a Saving Throw, weakening it below the effectiveness of most weapons.

2) Change Eldritch Blast to be an "Extraordinary Attack" based on BAB (FC p236). However to do so would require changing the Warlock's BAB to a higher progression otherwise it would be a worthless ability since it now requires an Attack Check AND allows a REF save for half damage. This would also completely change the basis of the power from equal to a small weapon to a higher damage ability (as extraordinary attacks usually scale by 1 die per 2 levels), which would make it more like the 3X version (but capping at 10d6 at 20th level before Warlock's Curse). This would also require quite a few ability re-writes for the class, like the gamebreaker.

As for the enlightened skill, these options only grant a few extra maximum skill ranks and are only available by taking: Keeper 2, Lancer 2, Single-Minded Human Talent or Pech Species. Overall, I don't think that is all that unbalanced.

Quote

The invocation progression: Why not just go up spell level 1, 2, 3, 4 etc. a la the Mage, rather than 2,2,4,4, etc.?

The progression is based on Paths, not Circle of Power. If you based it on CoP you would get a more restricted gain of spells at a given level but in trade would get 9th level spells. Following Paths, you get a slight boost in the spell level you can access at a lower level but you can only ever get up to 8th level spells.

Based on the existing paths, if you had a path that gave nothing but spells, it would look like this.

PATHPath 1: You can cast SpellLevel0 and SpellLevel 0 at will.Path 2: You can cast SpellLevel 1-2 and SpellLevel 1-2 once per scene.Path 3: You can cast SpellLevel 3-4 and SpellLevel 3-4 once per scene.Path 4: You can cast SpellLevel 5-6 and SpellLevel 5-6 once per scene.Path 5: You can cast SpellLevel 7-8 and SpellLevel 7-8 once per scene.